Paris Hilton was one of the first celebrities in Hollywood to be famous for, well, being famous. Bearing the infamous Hilton last name, Paris's later claim to fame came along with her leaked sex tape and then with her hit reality show, The Simple Life in 2003, alongside famous childhood pal Nicole Richie. The show made her one of the first reigning queens of reality TV, and the early 2000s marked some of Hilton's most notorious partying years in L.A., where she was ruled as the city's leading it girl — her face was splattered across every tabloid in town for dancing on tables and forgetting to wear underwear. Cue her infamous slogan — that's hot.
While Hilton has earned multiple Razzie Awards for her film appearances and has several mugshots to show from her previous arrests, she has made some pretty smooth business moves to make up for her former faux pas. In an interview with Elle magazine, she explained:
I could have easily been a trust fund kid, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be independent and not have to ask for anything and feel proud of myself. Once I started it just sort of snowballed into such a huge thing that I just keep on wanting more.
The fashion mogul has generated over $1.3 billion in the last six years. Mmmhmm, billion. Don't be fooled — none of that money was handed down from Daddy. How? Guess she's surprisingly smarter than you.
- Paris told Elle she has 17 different product lines, including 16 different fragrances, handbags, shoes, and even a line of eyelashes. Her fragrances alone have generated $80 million in revenue.
- Where do all of those products get sold? In a Paris Hilton store, of course. Currently, the mogul has 45 Paris Hilton international stores. She is set to debut another 250 more in China and India in this year alone.
- The reality star, who also continues to pursue various levels of music production, currently makes over $100,000 a night DJ-ing, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- While Hilton used to make up to $750,000 just to party at a club at the height of her fame, she still manages to make $250,000 for one appearance. That's one expensive cocktail.
- Hilton launched her own motorcycle racing team in 2010 for the world motorcycling championship circuit.
- Paris is also preparing to unveil the Paris Hilton Beach Club chain, with the first one opening in the Philippines.
- Remember Paris' hit single, "Stars are Blind?" Well, look out for a new potentially catchy tune from the heiress. Paris signed with recording label, Cash Money Records, to release a house music album this summer. Cash Money Records has previously signed with the likes of Drake and Nicki Minaj.
Good for you, Paris. Hats off.
